Croatia stun Argentina 3-0 to qualify for last 16 stage

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), June 22 (IANS) A far superior Croatia stunned heavyweights Argentina 3-0 to qualify for the knockout stages and leave their opponents’ fate hanging by a thread in a crunch Group D encounter here.

Second half goals during the match on Thursday from Ante Rebic (53rd), Luka Modric (80th) and Ivan Rakitic (90+1) ensured Croatia stretched their winning run to two games after they breezed past Nigeria 2-0 in their opener.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who drew with minnows Iceland in their first game of the competition, will now have to depend on favours from other teams in their group after winning against Nigeria in their last engagement to harbour any hopes of advancing to the next stage.

The 2014 World Cup finalists have one point from two games while Croatia have six from two outings.